Digital Revolution & London

London has managed to transform and adapt itself into a Tech City because of the incredible promise that is centred at its heart. London has even labelled a world leading 'Tech Hub' as of June 2014 according to Dunkley and Baxter from Standard.co.uk, stating that "London was today named as the world’s leading financial technology hub ahead of New York, San Francisco and Singapore". This is due to the new generation pushing creativity that has surged the Tech City. Even the Barbican aim to stage an exhibition their take on digital revolution in London stating "It also looks at the dynamic developments in the areas of creative coding and DIY culture and the exciting creative possibilities offered by augmented reality, artificial intelligence, wearable technologies and 3-D printing" (Barbican, 2014).

Drones have been on the receiving end of scrutiny for over a decade. For example, the book Drones Utilization: The Facts About Drones And Its Importance In Protecting The Boarders by M.Stalley (2014), as he talks about how "Drones have changed a great deal over time in terms of what they look like and what we can expect from them" to TED Talks about whether 'Drones will either destroy the world, or they’ll save it.' commenting that "The truth, of course, is that, well, they’re set to do both. Sophisticated developments see extraordinary advances on the part of the military, while the same technology is being harnessed and applied for life and planet-saving reasons, too." (Walters, 2013) basically managing to summarise the mixed reactions of the fact that drones, as beneficial as they are to some, the others aren't as welcomed as I compare the likeness of surveillance in general to the premise of drones. 

- Figure 1: BRC Drone Summit for Droners & UAV Operators

- Figure 2: CCTV, Privacy and the Law










The over population of surveillance has earned Britain the name, the 'surveillance state' according to the David Barrett from the Telegraph reports, "Britain has a CCTV camera for every 11 people, a security industry report disclosed, as privacy campaigners criticised the growth of the “surveillance state” (Barrett, 2013). The frustration with surveillance comes mainly from being part of generations Y and Z. They would be the most receptive to technology as since their birth they have had constant access to it. These generations would argue that CCTV has gone too far. 





This is exemplified by the statement made in a BBC news article that argues "But CCTV has grown far beyond this. No-one knows precisely how many cameras there are in the UK, but the estimates go as high as 4.5 million, making Britons among the world's most watched people." (BBC News, 2011). There are on the other hand people that believe surveillance if good as Kelly Fergus reports that "The arguments for the use of CCTV in this country are well known: cameras provide a deterrent to would-be criminals and make us feel safer. But is it true, and does that justify the enormous surveillance society we have become, the incarnation of the nightmare vision George Orwell had when he wrote 1984?"(Kelly, 2010). The comparison can be made here. There are some that acknowledge its worth and respect it while others believe that the continuity of CCTV, like drones can 'destroy the world'.